LIBERA St George’s Cathedral Southwark 11th December 2015 LIBERA MARC ALVARES, LEO BARRON, CIARAN BRADBURY-HICKEY, MERLIN BROUWER, BENEDICT BYWATER, GABRIEL COLLINS, TADHG FITZGERALD, ALEXANDER GULA, ADAM IZGHOUTI, MATTHEW JANSEN, TIMOTHY LEE, ISAAC LONDON, ALESSANDRO MACKINNON-BOTTI, ALEXANDER MONTORO, OLIVER MYCKA, CASSIUS O'CONNELL-WHITE, TAICHI SHINOKUBO, CAMDEN STEWART, ROCCO TESEI, JOSEPH WALSHE, SAMUEL WIGGIN, LUCAS WOOD JUNIORS NATHANIEL BATES-FISHER, EMANUELE BORRELLI, SAMUEL-FRANCIS COLLINS, HENRY CULLINAN-HOLLIHEAD, SHEA DUFFY, LUKE JELLEY, PETER KIELTY, MATHIAS MONTORO, ARTHUR PALMER, NEO PARSON, CAMERON TAYLOR, ROMEO TESEI, SEJUS TOUSSAINT-O'NEILL, OLIVIERO VENERI THOMAS, FINN WOOD MUSICAL DIRECTOR – ROBERT PRIZEMAN ASSISTANT MUSICAL DIRECTORS – SAM COATES & STEVEN GERAGHTY VIOLIN - TAM MOTT & HARRI ALLAN VIOLA - TADASUKE IIJIMA CELLO - KIRSTEN JENSON DOUBLE BASS - JAKUB CYWINSKI OBOE - JESSE BESCOBY FLUTE - EIMEAR MCGEOWN CLARINET - PAUL SANDERS HORN - CHARLIE RANSLEY PERCUSSION - JON ORMSTON PIANO & KEYBOARD - SIMON BESTON SOUND MIXING & PRODUCTION – SAM COATES LIGHTING – LUKE AVERY & DONAL BOYLE STAGE MANAGEMENT – KAVANA CROSSLEY, JONATHAN BARRINGTON & SIMON LEWIS STAGE DIRECTION – STEVEN GERAGHTY VIDEO SCREENS - VIVID LIBERA CO-ORDINATION & CHAPERONES – BARBARA GERAGHTY, ELEANOR LEWIS & ANNA JANSEN CONCERT MANAGEMENT – DAVID STEPHENS PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR – ANDREW WINTER LIBERA MANAGEMENT – STEVEN PHILIPP JOY TO THE WORLD SANCTUS THE PRAYER SILENT NIGHT STAY WITH ME WEXFORD CAROL CAROL OF THE BELLS EXULTATE ANGEL LIBERA - COMPASSION UK - INTERVAL I VOW TO THEE ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD SONG OF LIFE WAYFARING STRANGER WONDERFUL WORLD Southwark SALVA ME IN DULCI JUBILO NEARER MY GOD JOYFUL JOYFUL LIBERA The boys who make up the South London based vocal group Libera have been described as “normal” and “ordinary”. However, as their recordings and performances demonstrate, the music they produce is anything but. Familiar to audiences across the world, the boys have an original sound, which is at once both ancient and modern. Their distinctive white robes symbolise the traditional origins of their style - yet their music reaches across the generations to a new mainstream audience. Libera’s success in album charts around the world bears witness to the extraordinary appeal of this unique ‘boy band’. Enchanting audiences wherever they go, they have attracted an enthusiastic fan base in many countries, particularly the US & Canada, Russia, UK, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea. The group is known to British audiences through TV appearances and staged concerts at venues as diverse as the Queen Elizabeth Hall & the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Grassington Festival, Abbey Road Studios, and several UK cathedrals. Libera have made many TV appearances including BBC-TV’s ‘Last Choir Standing’, on which the Libera boys were featured as guests. They were winners of the Saturday night show ‘When Will I Be Famous’ and had a whole documentary devoted to them on BBC-TV’s ‘Songs of Praise’, and in 2014 they featured in a programme to commemorate the outbreak of World War 1 in which some of the boys traced their ancestors who fought in the conflict and performed songs of remembrance in France and Belgium. Other TV/Radio appearances have included BBC Breakfast and the Chris Evans Show. The boys are regularly to be heard on Classic FM, and last Christmas scored the top classical song download at iTunes. Libera regularly sing at events and services in cathedrals and churches like Buckfast Abbey, and Westminster Cathedral. In the US & Canada, Libera are known through their concert tours and TV appearances including nationwide PBS specials, NBC ‘Today’ show and ‘Tonight with Jay Leno.’ The boys had their debut at the Kennedy Center Honors, where they performed in front of the President and a hall full of celebrities in a moving tribute to honoree Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. This was followed by Libera’s participation in the Papal Mass at the climax of Pope Benedict XVI’s first visit to the USA. Performing to a capacity congregation of 65,000 at New York’s Yankee Stadium; Libera were the only British artists to take part in this historical event. Libera have travelled across North America several times, appearing in venues as diverse as the Crystal Cathedral in California, the St Louis Basilica, St Paul and Minneapolis cathedrals, the Moody church in Chicago, the Riverside Church in NYC and other venues both secular and sacred from Texas to Toronto. They opened the annual Starkey Awards Gala in the Twin Cities, where they were featured artists on the same programme as Miley Cyrus and Meat Loaf. Libera recently filmed a PBS special live concert in Washington DC at the National Shrine for broadcast and DVD released in March 2015. The Spring tour in 2015 whisked the boys across the country from Boston to San Antonio, from Chicago to Atlanta. In South East Asia, the sounds of Libera are frequently heard in mainstream TV and radio programmes and their CD’s ride high in the classical and pop charts of countries like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and the Philippines. The boys have sung the music for several feature films and television programmes. On recent tours they packed out the major concert venues in Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei, where the boys were feted by thousands of enthusiastic fans who queued for hours to meet the boys and collect autographs. During the recent tour in the Philippines, Libera topped the main album charts and sung to the major concert halls in Manila and Cebu crammed full with excitable fans. Through their involvement in Libera, the boys have t r a v e l l e d t h e w o r l d , r e c o r d e d m o v i e soundtracks and CDs and served as backing singers to mega-stars. (Just recently they appeared on the soundtrack of the major video game ‘Destiny’ with P a u l M c C a r t n e y w h o co-wrote the music.) But, as one of the boys said, “The travelling and filming is fun but even if we didn’t go anywhere I’d still want to do it because I just love singing.” THE MUSIC OF LIBERA Libera is true to the meaning of its Latin title, ‘Free’, and crosses many musical boundaries. With original repertoire, innovative textures and inventive arrangements the group brings an imaginative new perspective to the landscape of vocal music. The core of the sound is built around the voices of the young singers with their clarity, enthusiasm and excitement - the haunting yet vibrant sound of the treble voice that has long been a feature of choral music, particularly in the church. Indeed, the defining inspiration for Libera sprang from the ancient music of the cathedrals and monasteries – from the earliest form of choral music - plainchant. The boys’ robes of course retain a visual continuation of that history and quite closely copy what the boy monks wore when they sang and were schooled in medieval monasteries. Libera mixes the traditional chants with contemporary instrumentation and arrangement. Hence songs like ‘Salva me’ and ‘Libera’ reflect the shapes and mood of the old plainchant whilst combining it with new lyrics and harmonies. Some songs are arrangements of well-known popular and classical works. Although the originals cannot be bettered, some lend themselves to the uplifting sound and harmonies of the boys’ treble voices. The famous ‘Canon’ by Pachelbel, for instance, provides the basis for ‘Sanctus’ and an opportunity for some of the highest treble notes. The lyrics of Libera songs, many of which are sung in Latin, are most frequently drawn from a variety of contemplative and inspirational sources, both ancient and modern, including the Mass, Requiem Mass, Stabat Mater and the Psalms. Joy to the world, the Lord has come! Joy to the Let earth receive her King let every heart prepare him room World and heaven and nature sing Joy to the earth, the Saviour reigns! Your sweetest songs employ while fields and streams and hills and plains repeat the sounding joy He rules the world with truth and grace Music from W ‘Holford’s Voce di Melodia’ and makes the nations prove adapted by L Mason the glories of his righteousness Words by Isaac Watts Arranged by Robert Prizeman the wonders of his love Sanctus Sanctus Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domine Music: Robert Prizeman based on ‘Canon’ by Pachelbel Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabbaoth Words: trad pleni sunt coeli et terra Gloria I pray you'll be our eyes and watch us where we go The Prayer and help us to be wise in times when we don't know Let this be our prayer when we lose our way Lead us to a place, guide us with your grace, to a place where we'll be safe I pray we'll find your light and hold it in our hearts when stars go out each night remind us where you are Let this be our prayer when shadows fill our day Lead us to a place, guide us with your grace give us faith so we'll be safe We ask that life be kind and watch us from above we hope each soul will find another soul to love Music David Foster Let this be our prayer just like every child needs to find a place Words Carole Bayer Sager Arranged by Sam Coates give us faith so we'll be safe Silent night Holy night - all is calm all is bright Silent Round yon virgin mother and child Holy infant so tender and mild Night Sleep in heavenly peace Silent night Holy night - shepherds quake at the sight Glories stream from heaven afar Heavenly hosts sing ‘Alleluia’ Christ the Saviour is born Silent night Holy night - Son of God, love's pure light Radiant beams from thy holy face With the dawn of redeeming grace Music by Franz